The Work Out Thread

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I need to reduce the gravitational force between myself and the Earth and I don't have the luxury of leaving the planet (or just going into orbit momentarily). I'm trying to incorporate healthy eating habits and exercise, so I just walked/ran for 20 minutes on our gifted treadmill.

Are you trying to get 'in shape', or just continue to maintain a healthy lifestyle? What do you do?

[Parasaurolophus]

I have pumped iron five days a week for nearly twenty years now. The goal, of course, is to be large.

The pandemic has made things harder, as has apartment-living (since I can't set up a proper home gym). Still, the home setup has allowed me to mostly maintain. I have started tentatively returning to the gym a few days a week, very early when nobody else is around. Hopefully I'll be back to where I was pre-pandemic in a few months, although I'll be happy enough with six.

[mamselle]

Walking for an hour as many mornings as time, weather, and my teaching schedule allow.

Walking 300 paces every time I put the teakettle on (that's how long it takes to boil); I do psoas contractions, arm movements, and so on at the same time.

Folk dance once a week, for about an hour, most weeks (sometimes I fall asleep, it's after an energetic ADHD music student...)

I w-a-a-a-s going to do more ballet, but somehow fell off the wagon on that; I have a small barre-like setup and tapes to work from.

Very recently, I started giving myself brief modern assignments in lieu of the ballet barre....that might go somewhere.

Not a fan of gyms, weights, running, etc., as you might guess.

M.

[ergative]

I try to go for a run a couple of times a week, but haven't been making it more than once a week recently. I walked too far in work shoes on Thursday and am still recovering from the blisters.

[OneMoreYear]

I must work on my health with regard to decreasing stress, reducing mindless snacking, and increasing exercise.  As my modal amount of exercise is 0 minutes per day (if you do not count walking to the building from the parking lot or minor household chores), I'm starting with a short walk each day (~20 minutes) if the weather holds and plan to add in some pilates/yoga videos on the weekend. Hubby has gotten really into inline skating, but this will not be an activity I plan to join, as not only is my fitness low, but my balance skills are non-existent. 

Thanks for starting the thread; I saw the title and took a break from grading to go for a walk.

[sinenomine]

My annual farm share starts in a couple weeks. I'm hoping to experiment with more recipes to avoid drifting to frozen prepackaged meals and snack food.

[ab_grp]

I guess to answer the question, I would like my shape to change somewhat, but more than that I just feel like I'm at an age where it gets harder and harder to stay fit and healthy, and I want us to be able to enjoy our lives together as empty nesters now that the youngest is headed off to college.  Better get on top of things as much as possible now. 

I've been doing workouts on YouTube pretty much exclusively the past few months.  There are so many free workouts available, and so many good ones! I log them along with my other fitness and health data every day.  My daughter pointed me toward YouTube as a source for workouts by recommending a yoga practitioner she enjoyed, but I am just not a big yoga fan.  However, I found lots of workouts that suited me.  I had to work my way back from basically doing nothing for 5 years after probably 20 years of intense daily exercise, but there are so many options.  Now I typically do cardio interval workouts a few days a week, upper and lower weights (dumbbell) workouts a couple times a week, and dance every afternoon (mostly Latin dancing).  I find that the end-of-day dance workouts let me get some stress from the day out and loosen up a bit from sitting so I can stretch more.  Anyway, I have always been a fan of home workouts on DVD more than the gym.  If anyone is looking for particular types of workouts on YouTube (or DVD) and would like recommendations, please let me know! I try new workouts and trainers all the time.  Or, if anyone has recommendations of their own, I would love to hear them.

My husband needs to get in shape per doctor's orders and just bought a something or other from Dick's.  Looks like it could be a rack or a cage? I am not sure if there is a difference, but the terms seem to be used interchangeably at times on their website.  He has a weight bench and barbells and weights and all of that.  I'm looking forward to making use of it as well.  He also has an old school-looking rowing machine and rows several times a day.  And, now that he has to be back on site at work 5 days/week, he tries to walk around the parking lot a few times, but we are about in the 100s at this point, so I'm not sure how long that will last.

At his suggestion, I also picked up a couple ballroom dancing DVDs, and we have tried out the waltz so far, but that's it.  Dancing by myself is one thing, but dancing together is definitely a bit challenging for me! 

We have also been trying to get better sleep, and we have drastically overhauled our diets.  Again, that's mostly due to his doctor's orders, but it was a good wake up call.  We each log food and/or exercise on various apps and websites, and have added or changed some vitamins or supplements (not weight loss supplements, but other nutritional supplements).  Sadly, none of the aforementioned has made the scale move much for me! It would be nice to have a little progress in that direction, though I certainly feel a lot more fit than I felt a few months ago.

Thanks for starting this thread and getting the discussion going again!

[mamselle]

Yes, and I like the title better than the old "Fluffy Faculty Thread," by the way!!!!

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M.

[ergative]

I find that the end-of-day dance workouts let me get some stress from the day out and loosen up a bit from sitting so I can stretch more.

I've noticed this too. I feel like the stereotype of People Who Go For Runs is that they go in the mornings, but the mornings are for lounging in my jammies drinking coffee. It's really in the afternoon, when I'm irritated and restless from sitting at my desk and just want to build a break into the day between work and evening that a run is most welcome.

[Puget]

I live 1.5 miles from campus and walk to and from. I don't allow myself any other option, no matter the weather, which means I get my 3 miles in when I otherwise would be tempted to stay inside.  My colleagues are rather incredulous about this, but with proper clothing I'm never sorry to have walked, even on the occasional day I feel a bit sorry for myself while walking.

On days I work from home and on the weekends, I usually go for a walk or a run in the early evening, along the river path near my house. I used to run more regularly x3 a week, and want to get back to that. I think I need to just start the couch to 10k app over from the beginning and make myself work the program again.

Working in the garden is also good exercise, as my aching back and arms are currently reminding me after a day of weeding and pruning.

[Parasaurolophus]

I live 1.5 miles from campus and walk to and from. I don't allow myself any other option, no matter the weather, which means I get my 3 miles in when I otherwise would be tempted to stay inside.  My colleagues are rather incredulous about this, but with proper clothing I'm never sorry to have walked, even on the occasional day I feel a bit sorry for myself while walking.

Yeah, I did the same as a PhD student. It was a 10km round trip, but I really enjoyed it. Ever since moving here, however, everything is too far (it's a 50km round trip now, was about 28km when I was a postdoc), and the streets aren't very pedestrian-friendly. I really miss it. I go for a short walk or hike most days, but it's really not at all the same.

[ciao_yall]

After a knee injury from over a month ago seems to have healed, I am attempting a yoga class tomorrow morning.

Luckily the instructor also had a knee injury recently so hope he'll have some good tips.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I wish I were close enough to work so I could walk, but I ain't walkin' 50 miles a day. I just did another 20 minutes on the treadmill. Yay!

[paddington_bear]

I've been pretty consistent with yoga videos on YouTube - meaning, 2 or 3 times a week - since September or so. And then in March or April I realized I should be doing more strength training (since the type of yoga I like doesn't require involve strength), so I found a video on YT I like. All that's missing, I think, is cardio. (I don't understand how people fit in all of the different "types" of exercise you need. I mean, I know I'm lazy, so there's that.)

[mamselle]

A well-structured ballet or modern class will include them all in cycles.

Plie's are slow, steady, and encourage fluidity.
Tendu's are staccato, energetic and involve more dynamic movement.
Rond de jambes include the fluidity of plie's with the extensions and more percussive movements of tendus.
Grand battements use more extension and energy, etc.

Stylistically, a ballet class uses one kind of movement vocabulary; a modern class might use one of several different 'languages': Graham, Taylor, etc.

But you could also construct a sequence for yourself using the concepts described above while speaking 'yoga.'

A friend of mine teaches like that, in fact--or used to.

M.